If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I love flowers. In fact, I think they’re so amazing, I did a series this past year on individual blooms called Romantic Blooms. I haven’t been carrying on with the series because I don’t have a good selection of interesting flowers year-round in northern BC. But I will say that the short summers here yield some distinguished garden grown lovlies. It’s a short summer, but the plants that live up here, bloom their little hearts out.
This morning while at the Bulkley Valley Farmer’s Market, I noticed that my favourite local flower grower, Bob Chapman, had some great blooms available so I bought a few bouquets, carted them home and photographed them. I wish I was a flower arranger that could make lovely bouquets and handhelds but I’m not, so I simply trim off the extra vegetation on the bottom of the stems and place them one by one into the vase so they seem somewhat presentable. But my lack of flower arranging skills is not what I wanted to talk about.
I wanted to talk about market flower gardens as an alternative option for wedding flowers. Bob’s acreage, North County Farms, produces in-season flowers from June-September and brides in the local area flock to his property for fresh-cut, locally-grown blooms. Every Friday afternoon he begins the process of cutting hand-selected flowers for the Saturday market and wedding sales for the weekend. And he’s a busy guy.
I cannot stress enough how much I love this concept. Not only does this support a local farmer, it also reduces the carbon footprint from transporting flowers and you know exactly how the farm is run. Add someone who is talented in making beautiful arrangements and you’ve got yourself a win-win for everyone.
There are a few flower farms that I know of in southern BC but the one I *heart* the most is based out of the Skagit Valley, Washington called Floret. I adore the work they create, the farm looks incredible and quaint and if you have ever been to the Skagit Valley, you will know what a lovely setting it is for a flower farm. I hope to visit it next summer.
Here are a few options that I am familiar with that either use sustainably grown flowers or flower farms. If you know of any others, please let me know!
Olla Urban Flower Project (Vancouver)
Amoda Flowers (Vancouver)
Kenmar Flower Farm (Victoria)
